George Cooper is a recent Industrial Design graduate from the UK. For his final school project, he set out to design a human powered vehicle geared toward the majority of people who don’t currently cycle (that blue ocean that is mentioned here from time to time). His solution is an electric assist recumbent tricycle with a half fairing for aerodynamics and weather protection. His design also features “lights, panniers, disc brakes, gears, front wishbone suspension (with lean angle), wipers, under-seat steering, adjustable pedals and it doesn’t require any licensing or insurance.”

To better explain the concept, read George’s full summary of the project below:

“In the UK today there are three major concerns which are always being addressed in the media: money, health and the environment. This project sets out to design and manufacture a product which can appease each of these issues.

My initial research showed that a new form of human powered vehicle could be designed to encourage more people to cycle. This would benefit the rider’s health and financial situation while at the same time improving the environment by reducing pollution and the consumption of finite resources.

The aims of the project are to help those not accustomed to cycling, those with physical problems and enable them and many others to take up cycling. The project also set out to solve some of the current disadvantages of cycling and improve the comfort of human powered transport.

The product has delivered these requirements. I designed a motor assisted partially enclosed trike. The motor enables longer distances to be travelled with less effort from the user. The recumbent position is the most efficient method of pedaling which makes the E-trike efficient and comfortable for use by anyone. The half shell protects the user from the elements and the third wheel improves stability. It has a stylish, modern and clean appearance making it attractive and desirable. Other noticeable improvements such as storage and lighting have been incorporated into the design making the E-trike not only user friendly and efficient but also practical for daily use.

The E-Trike shares many of the advantages of the car but produces zero emissions. All these factors combine to produce a new elegant form of transport which incorporates into a healthy lifestyle. It aims to change the views of cycling and produce a society with better health, more money and greener attitudes towards the environment.”

It’s an interesting idea, but I don’t see how the rider gets in and out. Also, the fairing only protects from weather coming from above. The rider is still going to get blasted by spray from the front tires.

Hi, At the moment the whole screen lifts up but I have been looking at having a smaller section of the screen lift up. As for the spray from the front wheels (when turning) you have a very good point. It will require some front mudguards.

Incorporate an angle sensor that feeds power to the drive wheel according to the gradient and add a calibrated pot for the rider to dial up the ‘virtual weight’ of the trike. The rider can then choose the apparent ‘weight’ of the trike so that the rider exercises as if the trike was not power assisted. The trike can then behave as if it has zero weight, the 7 kg weight of a road bike, the 14 kg weight of a touring bike or the 20 kg of this HPV. I believe this is a patentable idea but I don’t have the resources to do this.

Paul, Interesting idea. When you accelerate the angle sensor would assume you are climbing and put on more power, an neat side affect. Also, I’m no patent lawyer but it may not be patentable 12 months after it has now been publicly disclosed.

A friend of mine worked designing accelerometers for video games. I think the same technology is used for the tilt sensor used in smartphones. I don’t think a sensor can easily tell tilt from acceleration and I think this improves the function of the electric trike.

The iBike power meter uses tilt plus air speed and other factors like weight and rolling resistance to establish the power produced by the rider. The gross gradient of a road changes slowly, whereas accelleration occurs over short time spans. I believe the two can be separated easily.

My Garmin GPS does a fair job of measuring gradient and I believe it uses atmospheric pressure change over time/distance but I’m unsure of that. It’s repeatable for a given location. I suppose the thrust (!) of my idea is that exercise is beneficial and relying totally on a motor doesn’t require exercise. So a vehicle that requires human power input is a more healthy alternative than a self propelled vehicle. Given a choice a lot of people won’t exercise as evidenced by the reluctance of motorists to walk 100 metres rather than pay for parking.

Some people are frail and can’t put out 100 watts. A vehicle with an adjustable ‘weight’ setting but with the minimum of a light road bike would make riders put out some effort.

But then we get to marketing. Once again, it’s likely that sloth would win out and there would be no sales.

I guess the market for HPVs is to people who already have a healthier mindset.

But I fully support this design. It’s attractive and practical. The tilt feature for fairings is already commercially available from Windwrap and Mueller fairings. I’ve owned trikes. The big disadvantage that I see is ‘masking’ by larger vehicles in traffic. Years ago Bob Stuart design an HPV with a large fin at the rear (and a semi circular wing fairing.) The fin contained a light array and was visible from the side. For discussion on almost every conceivable HPV head to http://www.recumbents.com/wisil/whatsup.htm

The HPV community generally may be an uncomfortable place for engineers 🙂 There’s a lot of misinformation but always enthusiasm.

Peter StullDecember 17, 2013 at 7:39 am -

I think the tilt sensor idea is great and may be a simpler way to do almost what Bionx does with a strain gauge in the rear hub..

Thats a beautifull design! Unfortunately not practical in several ways.
-wheel setup: There is a reason recumbent trikes have the front wheels not at the front, but roughly located near the riders knees. Your design would be rather tippy around corners and since you got inadequate weight on the front wheels, braking will be compromised as well.
-wheel design: While radial spokes look nice, the wheels will have inadequate latheral strength when cornering. Wheels with 2-cross spoke pattern
-disk brakes are ok, but drum brakes offer always the same braking power, even if its raining. The drum brake pads last a much longer time as well. Braking power of drum brakes, especially in 90mm drum size, provides ample stopping power.
-fairing: While a wind screen protects from cold wind and rain, it will be hard to see through the raindrops within minutes. You will ride nearly blind in a rainy night. The first Go-One velomobiles had a big front screens and suffered the same problem.
-electric drive: Cut the high tech crap (sorry!)! Keep it simple! A Cycle Analyst V3, a good controller, a geared hub motor, ebike brake levers and a Pedelec sensor at the bottom braket is all you need for a practical and robust electric assist. Ad a throttle for conveniance (adding a Pedelec sensor to my etrike suddenly dropped the power consumption on my commute by 20% in comparison to throttle operation alone).

This are no critique points picked out of the blue. Thats what I found out in five years and nearly 40,000km commuting and touring with an electric trike that saw several electric assist redesigns. I use a ICE Sprint 26 recumbent trike btw. Actually, I use two ICE Sprint 26 in two completely different setups (direct drive hub + geared hub motors, different motor controller, different wheel setups, ‘naked’ and front fairing, ect. Both got a CA V3, though). Both are great fun to ride!